The Health IT Roadmap is a 2-5 year plan that sets goals and establishes a range of initiatives and related activities that will provide direction for HIT investments across sectors. The Roadmap will help to support funding requests to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the State Legislature, as well as help to pave the way for long term sustainability by aligning HIT initiatives with the goals and needs of the provider community. The HIT Roadmap sets the direction towards increased interoperability between providers, healthcare organizations, and state agencies to improve care quality and population health while reducing overall costs. The top priorities are to:

Improve interoperability and the flow of data with stakeholder collaboration and governance

Provide data to educate patients and consumers

Facilitate HIT to support physician services for patients, quality care, and incentives

Will LDH use the 2018 percentage based scoring system, or the 2019 points based system?The Promoting Interoperability Program does not use a scoring system. The scoring system is related to the MIPS program. States have the option of using the scoring system to align with the MIPS program, however Louisina does not have any plans to do so at this time.

Program Year 2018 AttestationsPlease be advised when responding to the program year question in your attestation you will have to choose from Calendar Year 2017 OR a year from the date of your attestation. Due to CMS program rules these are your only options.

Please note: Providers who are using the LA SLR Application for the first time will need to resubmit their EHR registration at the CMS Registration & Attestation site (https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/EHRIncentivePrograms/RegistrationandAttestation.html) in order to begin their attestation for the Louisiana Medicaid EHR Incentive Program. Once you have resubmitted your registration, please allow 24 to 48 hours to allow for the registration data to be processed prior to your initial login. Also, make note of your CMS Registration Confirmation Number that you are assigned, as that will be needed to log into the LA SLR.

If you need assistance in determining if you’re eligible or understanding program rules, we have a staff available who are eager to help. Kelli Douglas EHR Program Manager Kelli.Douglas@la.gov

Gary Dillon EHR Program Monitor Gary.Dillon@la.gov

Through the Louisiana Medicaid Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Payment Program, eligible medical professionals and hospitals with qualifying Medicaid patient volume can receive incentive payments for adopting, implementing or upgrading and meaningfully using certified EHR technology. Eligible Professionals (EPs) are physicians, nurse practitioners, certified nurse-midwives, dentists, optometrists, and physician assistants (who furnish services in a FQHC or RHC that is led by a physician assistant). Eligible Hospitals include critical access, acute care, and children's hospitals. To learn more about the program, click here.

The following is a current list of EHR vendors in alphabetical order utilized in the state as reported through our EHR Incentive Payment Attestation System: EHRs used in LA.

Provider Outreach Initiative

To help us increase our EHR adoption rate, Louisiana Medicaid is looking for collaborators! A collaborator will receive $2,000 for each eligible professional he/she facilitates in a successful attestation for Adoption/Implementation/Upgrade by December 31, 2016. Also, a collaborator who assists an eligible professional in successfully attesting to Meaningful Use, starting January 1, 2017, will receive $3,500. A collaborator can receive a maximum of $5,500 within 2 years for each provider. Collaborators can be Managed Care Organizations, Medical Associations, Universities, Institutions, and other organizations that meet Louisiana Department of Health guidelines.

LDH is accepting new collaborator participation agreements for the 2018 attestation year until February 1, 2019. The deadline for applying to LDH to participate as a collaborator for the 2016 attestation year was April 13, 2017, and February 1, 2018 for the 2017 attestation year.

LDH must have receive confirmation of your vendor registration and intent to participate in the Provider Outreach Initiative by February 1, 2019. If you miss this year's deadline, it may be possible for new collaborators to provide their services when LDH begins accepting attestations for the next Calendar Year, contingent on both CMS and state budget allocation. Please email ehrincentives@la.gov if further details are warranted.

Louisiana was the 4th state in the nation to launch its incentive payment program in January 2011. Since that time, more than 2,500 medical professionals and hospitals in Louisiana have received more than $205 million in incentive payments.

For Program Year 1, more than $100 million in incentive payments was paid to 93 hospitals for an average payment greater than $1 million.

In April 2012, Louisiana was the first state in the nation to make a meaningful use payment.

Since program inception, Louisiana has remained among the top 10 states in incentive payments.

Before applying with Louisiana Medicaid for your incentive payment, you must first register with CMS. If you haven't registered, click here to register with CMS.

After registering with CMS, go to laconnect.thinkhts.com, and click on the red Provider Login button. IMPORTANT: Eligible Professionals (EPs) must log in using their individual Medicaid Provider ID or NPI. EPs must not log in using group or practice credentials. After successfully logging in, you will be able to access LAConnect. LAConnect is the online portal where Louisiana's eligible professionals and eligible hospitals can apply for EHR incentive payments.

Your incentive payment will be linked to the Payee NPI and Payee TIN that you provided during the CMS registration process. If the information you provided to CMS does not match the information in your Provider Enrollment File, a paper check will be mailed to the designated payee. Enrolled providers are encouraged to keep Provider Enrollment File information current, including payname, address and account numbers. You may contact Provider Enrollment at 225-216-6370.

Please expect payment within six to eight weeks of completing your attestation. If there is a problem with your attestation, the timeframe may be extended.

Audit

Incentive payments are subject to review by Myers and Stauffer LC, an audit firm under contract with Louisiana Medicaid. Myers and Stauffer auditors are currently reviewing Year 1 through Year 3 payments. If selected for review, you will receive a notification letter from Myers and Stauffer with instructions on required documentation. In addition to reviews conducted by Myers and Stauffer, incentive payments are subject to review and audit by external oversight bodies, such as Louisiana Legislative Auditor and Office of Inspector General. As a recipient of an incentive payment, you are required to comply with these reviews and grant access to the auditors as needed. Click on the appropriate link for EP Audit Tips and EH Audit Tips.

Withdrawal from Program

If you completed an attestation or received a Medicaid EHR Incentive payment and wish to withdraw your attestation and/or return your payment, you must complete a Return Payment/Withdrawal Form. The form can also be used by providers who wish to return a payment and have it reissued to another payee. Click here for the form and instructions.

Attestation Amendment Form

If you received a Medicaid EHR Incentive payment and wish to amend data to which you previously attested, you must complete an Amendment Form. This form can be used to amend program year, eligibility data, and meaningful use data. Click here for the form and instructions.